


three minutes to a new day

by kiroiimye



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, HQ Valentine's Day Exchange, Kawanishi is Tired(TM), KuroAka is Excessive PDA, Kuroo is loud, M/M, Meet-Cute, Shirabu Kenjirou's smart mouth, Sort of Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, sort of a coffee shop though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiroiimye/pseuds/kiroiimye
Summary: The bakery is lively in the morning and Shirabu needs coffee. At least there's a cute guy who's just as done with Shirabu's coworker's boyfriend as he is.(Alternately: Shirabu and Akaashi work at a bakery, Kuroo is loud, and Kawanishi just wants cake pops and coffee.)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kawanishi Taichi/Shirabu Kenjirou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 123
Collections: Haikyuu Valentines





	three minutes to a new day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kunimiakiras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunimiakiras/gifts).



The day starts in three minutes. Normally, with the bakery opening at nine in the morning, Shirabu gets more time than his usual six am days. He regularly gets fifteen minutes of downtime with his coworkers, but he had woken up late that morning, cursed approximately twenty-three times, got dressed in five, and was out the door two minutes later. 

Shirabu normally gets fifteen minutes to wind down, drink his coffee, and eat a croissant from the bakery. Today, he gets three. 

“You’re unusually late today, Shirabu-san,” Akaashi says as Shirabu breezes past him, a croissant in his mouth and tying his apron at the same time. 

“Overslept,” he grunts, tugging a knot clean behind him. “Damn biology homework kept me up and I forgot to set my alarm.”

Akaashi chuckles and slides a cup of coffee across the counter towards him while sipping his own tea and munching on a muffin. Shirabu has never wanted to throw his arms around his coworker so much. “It’s okay, Shirabu-san. It’s just one bad day.”

“I’ve had more than one,” he mutters and swipes at the coffee, chugging it until it’s half-empty. “Jesus, I might crash later.”

“You will definitely crash later,” Akaashi affirms, tugging Shirabu’s cup out of his hands and refilling it calmly. “Just don’t crash in biology later—Washijou-sensei will  _ kill  _ you.”

Shirabu shudders at the thought of his biology teacher and nods. “Yup. Duly noted.”

He finishes the rest of the croissant and chugs the rest of the coffee in one fell swoop, before checking the time. Exactly nine am. Nice. He throws the disposable cup into the trash can and moves to switch the sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open.’ 

About five minutes into opening, the door opens with a soft jingle from the bell and Kuroo Tetsurou blusters in, his voice cheery and bright. Shirabu cringes at the sound—as much as he likes Kuroo, he is  _ way  _ too loud in the morning.

“Handle your boyfriend,” he says to Akaashi. “I’m gonna check on the muffins in the back.” 

Akaashi rolls his eyes as Shirabu ducks into the back and peers into the oven, listening to Akaashi’s customary, “Hello, welcome to Boulangerie Bakery. What can I get for you?”

There’s Kuroo’s obnoxious laugh, followed by, “Keiji, we’re  _ dating.  _ No need to be so polite.”

“Kuroo-san, I am at  _ work. _ I do need to be professional.”

“Ah, c’mon Keiji. There’s no one else in here! Can’t you just give me a quick kiss?”

“Only if you buy something.”

“Fine. I’ll get that matcha muffin you like. Kiss now?”

There’s a soft sigh of “Kuroo-san” and no more talk after that. Shirabu gags into the corner.  _ Gross.  _ Someone needs to get Kuroo out of this stupid bakery because this is  _ ridiculous.  _

He’s about to march out and tell Kuroo to beat it, when a dry voice says dryly, “Hurry up so I can buy my coffee, Jesus Christ.” 

It’s a new voice, one Shirabu has never heard before. Sure, Kuroo is a regular and he normally comes in with a friend or two, but Shirabu’s  _ definitely  _ never met this one—none of his friends really tell him to cut the PDA with Akaashi. 

Curious, he peers around the corner and finds himself slack-jawed by the young man standing next to Kuroo. He’s tall, wildly taller than Kuroo by just a smidge, and pretty in a lazy way. His caramel hair is a bedhead mess and he has droopy eyes, giving him the perpetually exhausted expression on his face. Nevertheless, Shirabu finds himself strangely attracted to this young man and he steps out of the doorway. 

“Honestly Kuroo,” Shirabu drawls sarcastically. “You’re holding up the line of people who are actually  _ buying  _ something. Please stop being so thirsty move along so I can take his order.” 

“Aha! I  _ knew  _ Kenji-kun was in here somewhere!” Kuroo leans across the counter, his smile broadening. “How come you didn’t come and say hello?”

“You’re too loud in the morning,” Shirabu says, straightfaced and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kuroo’s friend crack a smile. “Also, hello.” 

Kuroo pouts at his answer, but pulls away nonetheless and shoots a wink towards Akaashi. “Text me.”

Akaashi waves idly, seemingly uncaring, but there’s a slight blush painted across his cheeks and  _ god,  _ Shirabu is about to  _ hurl  _ at their sappiness. 

“Go talk to your boyfriend,” he says to Akaashi, who blinks furiously, as if surprised by his suggestion.

“But the store—” 

“Go talk to your boyfriend or I will  _ hurl  _ at the amount of grossness the both of you are displaying in front of my face at 9:26 in the morning,” Shirabu deadpans flatly and it wins a smile from his coworker. 

“Alright. Thanks, Shirabu-san.” Akaashi slips out from behind the counter and makes his way to Kuroo and Shirabu turns back to Kuroo’s friend, whose lips had upturned in a slight grin.

“Sorry about that, what can I get you?” 

“Strongest coffee you can get,” the boy says, his gaze flickering back to Kuroo. “My next block is four hours with that idiot plus two of his friends and I think I’d rather die.”

“I feel you,” Shirabu says sympathetically, typing in the order for the strongest coffee he knows. “Which friends of Kuroo’s?”

“Bokuto and some guy named Oikawa.”

Shirabu winces. “Yeah, you know what? Your coffee’s on me today.”

The other male blinks, clearly startled. “Wait, what?”

“I feel  _ so  _ bad for you right now, you have no idea,” Shirabu deadpans, sliding in his own money into the register. “Oikawa and Bokuto are so  _ loud  _ and  _ annoying.  _ Adding to Kuroo? That’s one hell of a disaster.”

The boy’s tired expression morphs into one of amusement and his dark eyes scrunch together as he laughs. Something warm flutters in Shirabu’s chest at the sight and he can’t help but grin.

“Oh man, you’re so right,” he snickers, his once droopy eyes gleaming with mirth. “You’re a riot dude.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t call myself that,” Shirabu answers, turning over his shoulder to make the coffee. “All I do is drink coffee and say bad words about people.”

“Sounds like a good enough hobby to me.” 

Shirabu slides the coffee cup across the counter and the boy accepts it gratefully, before downing it all in one go. Shirabu watches him in apt fascination—he’s never seen someone other than himself drink coffee that quickly. 

The boy sets the cup down, glances back at a raucous Kuroo, who went from laughing obnoxiously to making out with Akaashi, and shoots a sheepish smile at Shirabu. “I might need another cup.”

“You need to buy yourself that one then,” Shirabu says, unable to fight the smirk on his face. “I’m no sugar daddy.”

“Damn, I thought I snagged one just now,” the other jokes and passes several bills across the counter. “It’s cool. I’d feel bad I mooched off of you anyways.”

Shirabu shrugs. “It’s not mooching if I offered. Can I get a name for the order?”

“Kawanishi. Oh yeah, can I get a cake pop too?” 

_ Kawanishi.  _ A name to match the snarky mouth and tired pretty boy. Shirabu mulls it over in his mind as he grabs another cup and begins to go through the process again. It rolls in his mind like a repeating wave—smooth, yet thunderous.  _ Kawanishi Kawanishi Kawanishi. _

Shirabu shakes his head. This is ridiculous—he just  _ met  _ Kawanishi. He really shouldn’t be developing a crush so quickly. But if Kawanishi and Kuroo are friends, then there’s a huge chance Kawanishi will come back anyway and maybe…

Maybe it won’t be just a one time meeting.

Shirabu turns back to Kawanishi with the steaming cup of coffee. “One strong coffee for a Kawanishi.” 

“Kawanishi Taichi.”

“Huh?” 

Kawanishi grins at him, his eyes glittering with an impish sort of warmth. “My name,” he elaborates. “It’s Kawanishi Taichi.”

Shirabu’s mind whirs like a broken machine. Shit.  _ Shit.  _ He was  _ not  _ expecting to get a full name on the first meeting. Maybe the fifth meeting at best. But if Kawanishi was opening up to Shirabu so quickly…

“Name’s Shirabu Kenjirou,” he blurts and Kawanishi’s smile grows.

“Pretty name for a pretty boy.”

A flush creeps into Shirabu’s cheeks and he yanks his gaze away quickly. “What cake pop flavor do you want?”

“Whatever you think is good.”

Shirabu ducks behind the cake pop glass and grabs a strawberry one at random. He carefully wraps it in a napkin and hands it to Kawanishi, who’s still grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

“Strawberry flavored,” he says quickly, looking away and ready to duck into the back. God, once Kuroo and Kawanishi leave, he is going to have a fucking breakdown because _goddamn_. “Have a nice day.”

“Is it your favorite?”

The question takes Shirabu aback and he whips back around to stare. “What?”

“I said, is it your favorite?” Kawanishi’s face is unreadable, but the smirk on his lips is all too telling and Shirabu rolls his eyes on reflex.

“No, it’s not.”

Kawanishi lets out a  _ tch _ , just as Kuroo comes over, lips swollen. “Yo, let’s go.”

“Shut up and meet me outside,” Kawanishi replies dismissively, his gaze still on Shirabu. Kuroo looks back and forth between them, before deigning for the smarter option. He mutters something to Akaashi, who’s about to cross over to the counter, and Akaashi looks at Shirabu and decisively follows his boyfriend outside.

_ Fucking traitor,  _ Shirabu decides. He’s going to  _ murder  _ Akaashi later. 

Kawanishi leans against the counter, his gaze steady and unwavering—a complete opposite from the tired expression he had worn that morning.

“What’s your favorite flavor then?” Kawanishi asks all too casually, but Shirabu’s words are choked in his throat and Kawanishi’s gaze is too unnerving for him to think.

But then, Kawanishi’s confident face wavers and he seems to shrink back in himself, turning away and muttering, “You know, never mind. You don’t need to tell me—

“Next time,” Shirabu interrupts without thinking, and Kawanishi turns around, eyes wide. It steadies Shirabu’s mind just a bit and it’s enough for him to straighten his posture and continue, “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll tell you. Or I’ll let you guess until you get it right.”

A huge smile washes over Kawanishi’s face and his dark eyes soften slightly. “Okay,” he says. “Okay, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Good.” Shirabu turns over his shoulder to face the back, and then mustering what little confidence he has left, he calls out, “And be prepared to give me your number too!”

There’s a low chuckle behind him that spikes his heart rate an unhealthy amount and Shirabu smiles to himself as he listens to the exiting ring of the doorbell. 

Tomorrow, instead of his day starting in fifteen minutes or even three, it’ll start with a cake pop and two of the strongest coffees he can make. 

**Author's Note:**

> this originally was kuroaka, but then i considered writing shirabu and then every thought of kuroaka went out the window. also, im pretty sure this isn't what you meant by a bakery au, but hey? close enough?
> 
> thanks for your prompts paige!! i really hope you enjoy this piece and happy late Valentine's Day !! >.<
> 
> \-- 
> 
> catch me on [tumblr](https://kiroiimye.tumblr.com/) & [twitter](https://twitter.com/kiroiimye) !


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